Lev loan guidance shift will challenge private credit CLOs, bring more new loan supply – Shenkman
EXCLUSIVE: Regulators rolling back restrictive guidance around leveraged lending could help traditional bank lenders claw back market share from US direct lenders

US regulators walk back post GFC leveraged lending restrictions
The OCC and FDIC now say the guidance was overly restrictive and that banks should rely on general risk management principles to manage their leveraged lending activity

First Brands’ disputes raise alarming concerns that all SPV lenders should be watching – Legal Analysis
SPV lenders face potential risks, including substantive consolidation and collateral devaluation

Thoma Bravo’s LBO loan deal for Calabrio draws mixed reactions over AI risk
EXCLUSIVE from Debtwire: USD 1.5bn first-out term loan marketed at SOFR+ 400bps, 97-98 OID; Investors divided on AI risk, some betting on Thoma Bravo's software expertise

Apollo, Oaktree and Searchlight among funds sitting on USS debt as company doesn’t make payment
EXCLUSIVE from Debtwire: Forbearance agreement reached between USS and creditors, as USS struggles financially despite recent LME efforts

Rush to exit bankruptcy pushes more companies to file a second time
Four companies file for second time in 2025, up from one last year; Poor prognosis for Chapter 22 filers, with high liquidation rates  

Tariffs will push up default rates for several years, say agencies and managers
After an uptick in leveraged loan defaults culled weaker credits in 2024, many expected default rates to fall in 2025. But the uncertainty stemming from the Trump administration’s tariffs means those assumptions are now under threat

US leveraged loan default rate set to rise to 1.6% by end of 2025: S&P
Macroeconomic headwinds, policy uncertainty and the reduced likelihood of interest rate cuts could contribute to the uptick  

US leveraged loan A&E reach all-time high—Baird
Amend & Extend volume for US leveraged loans hit a record USD 226bn, driven by a lack of M&A activity in 2024 and a still-high cost for refinancing.

Institutional loans set records while ratings agency data diverges
It isn’t just the CLO market breaking records this year. Loan volumes are also continuing to set records, according to the latest Debtwire data for November.

Fund performance
Entering the final three months of the year, CLO funds took a clean sweep of the top 10 spots in the Creditflux tables. October was strong overall, as over 85% of funds listed made positive returns

Octaura launches new protocol for CLO liquidations
Electronic loan trading platform Octaura has released a new set of processes to streamline loan BWICs and OWICs

Leveraged loan issuance tops USD 1tn in record-setting first half
US leveraged loan issuance has jumped 91.2% year-on-year in the first six months of 2024, reaching USD 1tn for the first time on record

Strong run helps CLOs shrug off Altice downgrade
It may be the largest triple C downgrade in years, but the CLO market is relatively unperturbed by Altice’s fall from grace.

US loan volume nears record levels
In Q1 2024 quarterly institutional loan issuance reached its second highest level on record. The period also saw the lowest quarterly share of new money issuance, at just 13% of total activity

Global Loan Highlights 1Q24: Don’t call it a comeback
Loan refinancing share hits historic high, but IG issuance stymies YoY global growth

February 2024 US Leveraged Highlights
Debtwire today releases the February 2024 US Leveraged Highlights, featuring key trends in the leveraged loan and high-yield bond markets.

Global corporate defaults on fastest pace since 2009 according to S&P
The number of corporate defaults has risen dramatically year-to-date, according to S&P Global Ratings, driven by a doubling of the rate of defaults in Europe

Wave of legal hires becomes a tsunami
In February alone legal heavyweights Allen & Overy, DLA Piper, Fried Frank, Kirkland & Ellis, Proskauer Rose and White & Case all announced the arrival of partners in the credit space

Proskauer poaches pair of credit partners from Milbank
Proskauer Rose continues to build out its team with the addition of Eric Reimer and Gayle Berne as partners in the global finance practice

Credit PMs remain gloomy in latest IACPM survey
Survey participants in the latest IACPM Credit Outlook Survey believe the euphoria seen in global financial markets during the last few months of 2023 was overdone

End on a high: institutional loan and HY bond issuance rises 44% YoY
Leveraged finance (LevFin) issuance across the US institutional loan and high-yield (HY) bond markets totalled USD 529bn in 2023, representing a 44% year-on-year (YoY) increase

November 2023 US Leveraged Highlights
Debtwire today releases the November 2023 US Leveraged Highlights, featuring key trends in the leveraged loan and high-yield bond markets

US CLO credit Air Methods Corporation files for bankruptcy
Air Methods Corporation, a widely held name in the US CLO market, filed for Chapter 11 this morning reporting USD 1bn to USD 10bn in liabilities.

September 2023 US Leveraged Highlights
Refinancing continues to amplify leveraged debt volume in Debtwire's latest report featuring key trends in the leveraged loan and high-yield bond market